The things we accomplish in life are often shaped by the people we know and the people who know us. This week, my focus has been on reaching out and building connections with many of you.
If you read this Thursday’s post (and please do read it if you haven’t already), you know that I’m opening up a weekly guest post slot on Fridays. If you’ve already contacted me about guest posting but haven’t gotten a reply yet, don’t worry. I’m still working through the large number of emails, but I promise to respond to all of them tonight.
To make the process smoother, I’ve put up a set of 10 simple guest post guidelines. If you’re working on a guest post, please take a few minutes to read them.
Great Reads – And a Challenge
I’d like to encourage all of you (especially you introverts) to spend some time this week reaching out to people both online and offline. Reconnect with old colleagues, make some new friends, and share something personal with them while you’re at it.
To get you started, I’ve pulled together a few resources on networking and community from some of my favorite sources. Enjoy!
- 19 Presence Management Chores You Could Do Every Day – Chris Brogan, one of the kings of community building, shares a list of easy tasks that you can do daily to create and nurture an online network.
- Strangers, Critics, Friends or Fans – A pithy post from Seth Godin, in which he identifies the different groups of people you may be trying to bring into your community and where your time and effort are best spent.
- 1000 True Fans – Written by Kevin Kelly, one of the founders of Wired Magazine, this is one of the most famous posts on community building out there. If you haven’t read it before, you need to read it now. If you have read it before, it wouldn’t hurt to read it again.
- How to Create Authentic Relationships – My friend Bud Hennekes at A Boundless World writes about forming healthy relationships in a world where superficial connections have become the norm.
- Want to Improve Your Relationships? Listen Up! – Sometimes the best way to build a relationship is not to chase after it, but to be receptive and let it come to you. In Gail Brenner’s guest post on Goodlife Zen, she explores the importance of listening when reaching out to others.
This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list of networking and relationship resources. I’ve chosen these five articles because they showcase a variety of different viewpoints and explore different areas of community building. If you’re looking for more, you may also want to read The Introvert’s Guide to People, one of my posts from last year. But don’t stop there; go forth and explore. That’s how we grow.
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Do you have a favorite article or resource on building strong relationships and tight communities? Share it in the comments below.
See you all Monday!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Being quite an introvert myself, I loved the post of yours that you mentioned. Relationships are so important and I don't think we put enough time and effort into them.
Time and effort indeed. I know I'm the kind of person who easily lets relationships lapse if I don't pay attention. Kudos to you for tackling the challenge – and I'm glad to be doing it along with you.